They're off!

I finished my handmade postcards for the postcard swap that Anne at "Frayed at the Edge" (blog) was hosting. I couldn't decide which card to send so the unanimous consesus from my coworkers was to send both. They're on their way to Yvonne and even though she hasn't received them yet, I don't think she is aware of my blog so won't see them ahead of time. I emailed Anne photos that she will use to showcase the efforts of all the participants. It will be fun to see all the different ideas everyone has come up with.

I love all sorts of crafts (sewing, embroidery, knitting, etc). One of the gals who volunteers with me at the local library is quite the knitter. She's a snowbird (spends a large portion of winter living in Florida) and right before she left in November of last year, she encouraged me to try my hand at knitting socks on four needles. Two needles or a circular needle and a tricky pattern give me enough of a challenge but I told her I would give it a try. Two weeks into the start of the sock on the right, just as I was at the heel and gusset, she left for Florida and I had to rely on a tutorial on YouTube. I finished one blue sock, began the brown toned sock on the left for Only Daughter and then set her second sock aside to quickly knit a complete pair of a teal tweedy colored socks for my hairdresser for Christmas.

After finishing up the second brown toned sock this week, I began the other sock in the blue pair. The brown one will be mailed later this week to Only Daughter so that she can actually wear them while the weather is cold. I love how the patterns develop as the skein is knitted.

I mentioned in my last post that I baked Mr. Puddle's favorite dessert on Sunday. He grows the neck pumpkins and I always can at least 7 pints each fall to take us through the winter. Only Daughter gets a pint or two when the canning is finished and her family enjoys it made into pumpkin bread. Mr. Puddle feels that's a waste of perfectly good pumpkin that can be made into a pie.

Our snow is melting and should be gone by the weekend. I pass a coffee shop on my way to work every morning and the message on their sign this morning read "57 Days Until Spring". Can't wait!

Let It Snow!

Yesterday we had the first snowfall of 2012 and only second snowfall of this winter (our first snowfall was back on October 31, 2011). Five inches of snow fell which kept myself and my two walking partners from our 6AM walk. Very cold temperatures overnight meant icy conditions this morning so the walk was postponed until this afternoon. Mr Puddle and I took a walk down to the pond to snap a picture and as you can see from the darker spots here and there, the pond is not safe for skating.

Male Cardinal

 

 

Red Headed Woodpecker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love to feed the birds and do so all year long, not just in the winter.  In April, the hummingbird feeders are cleaned up and filled and replace a couple of the "seed and suet" feeders we have out during the colder months.  Every December, the Audubon Society has a bird count and local members visit our property to count any birds that have not already been seen or counted during the week long project.  The same folks have stopped every year for the last 10 years or so and it's always fun to see how excited they get when they spot a bird they haven't yet counted.

I love Lucy's...

monthly photo from her attic window (check out her blog, Attic 24) that she takes at the beginning of each month.  Following her inspiration, I will try to get a picture of "The Puddle" at the beginning of each month to record the changes in the weather, seasons, etc.

Weather here right now is bitter cold but no snow.  What a surprise since Central PA's annual Farm Show ran all last week.  Farm Show weather usually includes at least one snowstorm but not this year.  In fact, we had some unseasonably mild weather this past week.

I am participating in a postcard swap hosted by Anne (Frayed at the Edges) so will be busy this weekend gathering ideas for the handmade postcard that is one of the two that will be swapped.  Monday is a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Day, which means a short work week next week.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.  Stay warm!